Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by matjack85:

Comes in a small 350ml brown bottle with the freshness date notched at the bottom of the label. I don't know why Beer Advocate calls this Poperings Hommel Bier when every bottle I saw plus the actual picture of this bottle uploaded here clearly uses the word ale instead of bier, but in any case here is my review of it:

The pour produces a huge frothy white head that nearly consumed the entire ale glass, so be carefull with the pour. Once it settles down (which takes awhile), the beer takes on a pear yellow color with a tint of orange, and leaves an incredible amount of lacing on the glass. It's a really beautiful looking beer.

The smell is very faint, not much to it, but what there is of it smells like fruit, spices, and hops. While the smell of hops may be faint, the taste sure isn't. This beer is loaded with hops. It is actually a delicious mixture of sweet malts, citrusy fruits, and bitter hops with the hops being the predominant flavor.

Nice creamy mouthfeel with a decent amount of carbonation, and a dry and slightly alcoholic finish. Really easy to drink a bunch of these. A nicely crafted IPA which is a bit of a rarity in Belgium.

More User Reviews:

I have only had a few of the style but although different from my favorite American style these seem to have found a niche with me.Poured into a small tulip glass a hazed light golden with big blooming head leaving globs of lace as it settled very slowly.Big citrus notes in the nose very effervescent intertwined with some floral and yeasty tones very appetizing.Slightly phenolic(not something I really care for)and yeasty with a real herbalness and citric quality imparted from the hops good medium mouthfeel almost creamy in texture,it glides down quite easy and has nice hop flavors.

A classic and one of the hoppiest beers to come out of Belgium. There is a huge sense of terroir from the hops, such a unique character. Both Belgian beer lovers and hopheads flock to this beer, and so should you.

After previously having this on tap I'm interested to see how the bottle fares. Pours from the 11.2oz bottle a deep dark orange with a bountiful inch of craggly foam atop the brew. Strings of lacing decorate the glass as I inhale and get notes of sweet, fruity pale malts along with a hefty portion of herbal, grassy hops. The hops are really nice and vibrant, even a touch floral in the aroma.

First sip brings a crisp, pale fruity maltiness with a touch of graininess in there as well. Intertwined is a wonderful green, herbal hop presence that magnifies as it goes down. Hints of citrus and floral tones emerge. Wonderfully balanced with a great hop utilization. This is just a tasty brew all around.

Mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied. Goes down easy and keeps me coming back for more. I wouldn't complain if this was produced in 750ml bottles! A hoppy Belgian brew that's well worth tracking down and trying.

One of the most impressive-appearing beers I have seen. Served in a tulip, it was an orange color with a thick white head. There was a thin stream of carbonation that arose from the bottom of the glass, which persisted the entire time I drank the beer. Other than the kudos for the appearance, this beer was only a little bit above average. The aroma was vaguely fruity and floral. I thought the taste was mostly bread-like, with only a hint of hops. Pretty good beer, not very IPAish.

A rare, hoppy Belgian beer. Sweeter than an Orval and stronger at 7.5%. Liken this to a hoppy triple, but easier to drink and more refreshing. Poperings is a hop region and this brew is obviously blessed by its local hops. The area is known for its role as one of the largest battle fields in the World Wars (so I was told when in Belgium).

Pours a decently clear bright golden color until the yeast goes in, then it's very murky. Love yeast. Extremely thick and rocky, huge, white head that goes absolutely nowhere. Tremendous lacing from the big, rocky head. Smells of sweet, fruity malts, belgian yeast, banana, clove, candied sugars, Im not picking up much hops in the aroma. Smells like a standard tripel.Taste is more fruity, sweet malts, bready, belgian yeast, phenolic, honey, slight hop finish but nothing much at all. Has a certain off taste in the middle though. Not sure what it is. Mouthfeel is rich, very carbonated, with a dry, crisp finsh.I would consider this pretty drinkable and enjoyable. It reminds me of a good Belgian Strong Pale Ale more than anything else though. Not to take anything away from this great brew but if I want a Belgian IPA, I'll first reach for Houblon Chouffe.

This beer is all about freshness. Bottles in the States have been variable but one time I had it on tap in Amsterdam. It was freshly written on the chalkboard beer list and the waitress said they had just tapped the keg that day. Boy! What a difference: great floral/citrusy hop aroma along with a grassy yeastiness. The beer was crisp, dry, slightly sour with great hop flavor, a fine mousse and a great finsh that balanced malt/alcohol sweetness and hop bitterness with a touch of tangy acidity. Outstanding!

25cl brown bottle with a freshness date at the bottom of the label, the label hops a hop farm on the edge of a city.

Appearance: Adorning a beautiful Brussels style lace, off white and sticky with a very good retention. Slightly hazed orange golden hue.

Smell: Sweet grain, almost honey-like, aroma is covered by a thick blanket of oily herbal hop and medicinal phenol along with a steady stream of spice and fruity esters. Fresh and very aromatic, pleasing to the nose.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Huge bold crispness from a high level of carbonation within the medium body. Lots of hop flavour and more than enough bitterness to hold the malt as well as fruitiness back. Long drawn dry malt character that goes from a cracker-like flavour to a mealy biscuit. Oily hop with a heavy handed herbal flavour hits the palate hard, fruitiness is juicy in the center with some alcoholic esters. Finish with a long trail of hop flavour and puckering dryness.

Drinkability & Notes: First off this gets to be a Beeradvocate Pick. This is an odd ball of the bunch as far as Belgians go being the amount of hop character that is there, I for one love it. Last trip to Belgium I quaffed many of these in Antwerp and could not get enough.

Clear, goldenrod body shimmering with tiny bubbles of carbonation. Tall white head settles into a fine meringue with excellent retention and lavish patch lacing. Aroma is herbal and grassy, lending an outdoorsy, almost saison note. White pepper, mint, and herbal spring flowers are complimented by a hint of wild honey. Nice!
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, silky, with lively carbonation.
Taste is dry and hoppy bitter with pepper, mint, and herbs. A touch of honey provides balance. Dry and herbal, almost like a saison.
Clean and refreshing. Quite impressive. This is consistently one of my favorite Belgian ales, whether from a tap or bottle.

large bottle caged and corked, that my wife returned from Belgium with, nice job. This one opens with a burst of energy and pours with the same spirit. Spritsy and livley. Light apricot in color and yeasty cloudy. The large head is snow white, dissolving to a thick film and leaving fine but slippery lacing. Nose here is citrusy and maybe a hint of pepper. this is a fine, yeasty, lemony, tasty and lively brew. Fruity and crisp up front and then balanced by citric drying hops, yum. Fine summer sipper. well worth a try.

The beer pours a hazy yellow color with a white head. The aroma has a lot of Belgian yeast notes, as well as some spices, grass and citrus which I guess comes from the hops. The flavor is very similar, with a lot of grass and citrus notes, as well as some spicy and slightly funky Belgian yeast. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

This beer compelled me to register an account with BeerAdvocate to sing its praises. Thus, this is my first review here.

Since my first sampling, some eight years ago, and through intermittent encounters since, this beer has remained my favorite. It's definitely not a "drink six" or "drink every day" sort of a product, and it's rare to find it in small bottles, anyway. For me, it's always a treat. In my relatively limited experience, it compares only to a couple of the La Chouffe varieties in its distinctive flavor profile. Sadly, I'm inept when it comes to isolating "notes" and aromas and the like. I'd describe it as clean, yet complex; spicy, yet balanced; smooth, yet slightly bitter; and with a subtle yet all-encompassing citrusy profile from first scent through its finish.

Poured from 11.2 oz bottle into Harp 20oz pint glass. Sloth has gotten the best of me as I have yet to buy any kind of real glass wear. Massive spuming head rises immediately to the top of the 20 oz glass and sticks around quite a long time leaving great lacing. Beer pours a nice amber color. Nose is light hops, sweetness, very light malts. Slight iron taste initially on the tongue, followed by light sweetness and hop bitters. Nice overall mouth feel, and drinkability.

Has the nose of a high-quality, high-sugar Belgian, with rich fruity notes (pear, apple, white grape, citrus zest), and a hint of a toasted grain backing.

On the tongue, the sugars come across in full force, bearing not only the same fruit flavors noted in the nose, but leading off with brown sugars and hints of caramel. The sweeter sugars soon fade off, revealing not the expected grain base, but a sourness reminiscent of Flemish ales (though nowhere near as powerful) that comes across as apple cider. The hops really come into play during this phase, adding a bitterness to the sour notes that nicely fills the mouth and fuzzes in the nasal passages. A toasted grain base does back all of this, but tends to get lost in the pantheon of larger, more powerful flavors. The aftertaste is a continuation of the flavors present in the ale's latter phase.

Overall, this is an excellent ale, and I liked the inclusion of both sweet and sour notes. Well worth trying.

A 250ml bottle with a BB of June 2013. Picked up from the York Wine & Beer shop.

Poured into a Delirium chalice. A hazy golden-amber hue with floating sediment and strong carbonation. Forms a huge head of creamy white foam that remains for many minutes before subsiding to a surface layer. Aroma of sweet, fruity Belgian yeast with notes of banana and an alcoholic finish. Not much in the way of hops.

Tastes of light malt with a fruity yeast character and a dry finish. Slightly sweet. Notes of bananas and sugar. A dry, almost herbal bitterness upon swallowing, along with a warming hint of alcohol. The bitterness borders on harsh. Mouthfeel is excellent - not heavy, but thick and creamy with tingly carbonation. Coats the palate. The alcohol and yeast render it rather astringent. Aftertaste of fruity, boozy yeast and a dry bitterness.

Quite nice, but definitely not hoppy. More like a Belgian blonde or golden ale. However, I've come across other reviews comparing IPAs to this beer, so perhaps the example I have has faded or been mishandled. I'll try it again at some point. At any rate, it has a subtle, well-balanced character and impressive body that make it highly drinkable. Well worth sampling.